Category Archives: Nutrition

Possibly the most important section of the blog- in this Nutrition section you will find information on how to properly fuel the brain. There is no denying the correlation between proper diet and dementia and alzheimers prevention, proper prenatal care, and improving overall brain health.

Category: Nutrition

Possibly the most important section of the blog- in this Nutrition section you will find information on how to properly fuel the brain. There is no denying the correlation between proper diet and dementia and alzheimers prevention, proper prenatal care, and improving overall brain health.

While there certainly are various medications that prove somewhat helpful in the treatment of symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, it’s important to recognize that these medications are not actually treating the underlying disease itself.

We now understand that one of the pivotal mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease is the compromise of energy production at the mitochondrial level. This ultimately manifests as various problems, not just in the brain but throughout the entire body. With this understanding, specifically targeting mitochondrial function makes sense as a way of addressing this fundamental and underlying abnormality in Parkinson’s. Continue reading

Asthma is the world’s most common respiratory disorder, and, studies have found, is often associated with increased rates of mortality and decreased quality of life. Thus, it’s obvious that keeping asthma at bay is in our collective best interests. Continue reading

As I’ve stated before, one of the most fascinating things about the human brain is that neuroplasticity, the process by which the brain undergoes changes in response to internal and external stimuli, affords us a great deal of control in determining the overall health of our brain. While there are many lifestyle changes one can make to improve overall brain health, studies have shown that dietary factors can have a significant impact. Choosing which foods you use to fuel your body goes far beyond counting calories; the macronutrients—fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—you emphasize in shaping your diet can have major repercussions for brain health. There is evidence to suggest that individuals who consume a diet high in carbohydrates have an 89% increased risk of developing dementia, while people who consume a diet high in healthy fats actually reduce their risk by 44%. Ensuring that the foods you consume are high in antioxidants, rich in healthy fats, low in carbohydrates, and powerfully anti-inflammatory can go a long way towards optimizing brain health and boosting memory and cognition.

Foods to Improve Brain Health and Memory

Generally speaking, I recommend a diet that is higher in fat and fiber, low in carbs, and rich in gut-healthy probiotics. To that end, please read on for some suggestions on specific foods around which to build a brain-boosting diet!

With all of the hype around fasting, you may believe it to be just another modern dietary fad, but the truth is that fasting is as old as our species. Until very recently, humans have always had periods of going without food. Fasting is baked into our evolution and our physiology and it can yield benefits to our brains and bodies, at a biochemical level, that we’re only just beginning to understand.

Many of us are blessed to live in a world with abundant food, but that wasn’t always the case. Throughout our evolutionary history, sometimes days, weeks, and months would pass during which food resources were scarce. These periods without food provided small hormetic stresses on our genome — meaning stresses that turn out to be beneficial to our bodies. In the absence of calories, life-sustaining, protective genes responsible for cellular repair and protection are activated, inflammation is reduced, and anti-oxidative defenses are increased.

This means that simply going without food for a while may have anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor benefits that are available to anyone, at any time.

Alcohol is one of the most controversial topics health and wellness practitioners must navigate. Frequently, readers of this blog ask if alcohol consumption can be a part of a healthy lifestyle — my answer is, it depends.

Many studies have shown that alcohol consumption may have benefits far beyond easing social interaction and improving dance floor performance. A meta-analysis of the literature conducted in 2015 by the Journal of Internal Medicine found that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with reduced risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. However, that same study also found that heavy drinking, defined as consuming three or more standard-sized drinks per day, is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, abnormalities in heart rhythm, and brain bleeding type stroke. How can alcohol consumption be associated with both an increased and decreased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke? Continue reading

We commonly think that if something is good for our health, that more of it is even better, right? More kale never hurt anyone. Putting on extra sunscreen may not protect us from even more UV rays, but it certainly won’t cause excess damage!

But is that actually always true? How about with insulin, which we’re commonly told to keep as low as possible? Continue reading

﻿ When Grain Brain first hit shelves, one of the first questions I started to hear repeated to me again and again was “This is great and all, but what can I do if I’m a vegetarian?” The answer is simple: you can be a vegetarian and follow the Grain Brain lifestyle, no problem (and if you want to learn more about this, visit our vegan/vegetarian focus page).

Now as similar lifestyles begin to take the spotlight, the ketogenic lifestyle chief among them, the same question, posed about these diets, are coming to the fore. Thankfully, Dr. Will Cole is here to help. Continue reading

The ketogenic diet is one of the most talked about and debated diet trends today. You’ve probably heard celebrities, athletes, and neighbors raving about the benefits of this dietary approach. Interestingly, the science backs up its rapid growth in popularity, as a ketogenic diet has been shown to have numerous health benefits for its adherents. The diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, improve glycemic control in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, help individuals struggling with obesity lower their BMI, and even improve or control symptoms of debilitating neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and epilepsy. There is even some evidence to suggest that a ketogenic diet can play a role in the treatment of cancer! If it is implemented properly, adopting a ketogenic diet can be a very powerful tool in the fight against a variety of chronic diseases.

If you’ve recently made the decision to transition to a ketogenic diet or are exploring the possibility of a change, chances are you might currently find yourself in a world of confusion. What is ketosis? What are ketones? Can I really eat all the fatty foods I want? How can this possibly be good for me?

The ketogenic diet has taken health circles by storm. Everyone seems to know somebody who has “gone keto” or is at least thinking about it. Keto labels are popping up on restaurant menus and in grocery stores.

And yet, the 2018 U.S. News & World Report recently evaluated 40 diets and guess which diet came in dead last? The ketogenic diet.

What is going on here? How can a diet land in two polar opposite camps? In a world that seems to thrive on polarizing controversy, let’s put a few misconceptions to rest and take a look into the effects of the ketogenic diet on the body. Because there is no doubt about it – the benefits of a ketogenic diet are profound. Continue reading

Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of giving a keynote presentation at the annual PaleoFx conference. This conference is a gathering of individuals and vendors door focused on the notion of reclaiming health through emulating the environment of our ancestors. Most importantly, the event looks at food, and how that important choice influences health.

Dr. Perlmutter is one of the leading lights in medicine today, illuminating the path for solving chronic illness. He has been a personal mentor and guide for me in dealing with many complex patients and someone I send my closest friends and family to. His leadership in the new medicine has taken so many of us to a place of new understanding about how we can heal and protect our brains.

Mark Hyman, MD

author of the current bestselling book The Blood Sugar Solution, Founder and Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center, Chairman, Institute for Functional Medicine